Capital punishment in various forms has been used by the State as a means of punishment for millennia. However the first recoded execution took place at Tyburn in 1196 with the execution of William Fitz Osbern. Tyburn was a small village on the Middlesex borders close to the current location of Marble Arch, Oxford Street, London.
During the reign of King Henry VIII an estimated 72,000 people were executed, amongst them 2 of his wives, Katherine Howard and Ann Boleyn. The methods included beheading, hanging, boiling, burning at the stake and the method hung, drawn and quartered.
The Bloody Code, a List of Crimes Punishable by Death
Few countries at time had as many crimes that were punishable by death as the UK. The 'bloody code' listed approximately 220 crimes carrying the death sentence. The death sentence was levied for crimes such as being in the company of gypsies for a month, strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7-14 years, and the blacking of the face or wearing a disguise to commit a crime.
Crimes, which today would be punished by community service, fine or caution, were often punished by death. However, although the sentence was carried out for murder and other crimes against the person such as robbery or burglary many death sentences levied for more minor crimes were commuted.
Commuting the Death SentenceThe death sentence could be commuted or respited, which means delayed, for a number of reasons. These included official pardon, pregnancy of the convicted woman or for previous military or navel performance. To put this into perspective, between 1770 and 1830 death sentences numbering 35,000 were handed down, but only 7,000 were carried out.
The Reform of Capital Punishment Begins in the UK
The reform of capital punishment can be traced back to 1808 when Sir Samuel Romilly had the death penalty removed from the statue books for minor crimes such as pick pocketing. The Judgement of Death Act 1823 gave judges the power to commute the death penalty for all crimes except murder and treason.
Major changed came with the Capital Punishment (amendment) Act 1868 which ended the spectacle of hanging in public. From that date hanging had to take place within the confines of the prison. The sentence of beheading and quartering of convicted traitors ended in 1870.
For century's children as young as 7 could be executed, this changed with the passing into law of the Children's Act 1908 which raised the minimum age to 16 which in turn was increased to 18 under the Children and Young Persons Act 1930. From 1931 pregnant women could no longer be hanged though in practice the sentence had been commuted since the 18th Century.
The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1949-53) was set up by the then Home Secretary James Chuter-Ede. The remit of the Commission included whether the liability to suffer capital punishment should be limited or modified as well as looking at alternatives to hanging as a form of punishment. This included reviewing the use of lethal injection as a means of carrying out the sentence but this was rejected after pressure from the British Medical Association who advised that it would cause doctors assisting in the execution to breach their Hippocratic Oath.
The Commission concluded that unless there was overwhelming public support in favour of abolition, the death penalty should be retained.
The Homicide Act 1957 listed categories of murder punishable by death, these were:
- In the course or furtherment of theft
- By shooting or causing an explosion
- While resisting arrest or during an escape
- For the murder of a police officer
- For the murder of a prison officer by a prisoner
The 2nd of 2 murders committed on different occasions (if both committed in the UK)
The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended the death penalty for 5 years (except in Northern Ireland where it was abolished in 1973). James Callaghan, Home Secretary proposed that the Act be made permanent which was carried in the Commons on December 16th 1969
The death penalty remained on the statute books for the following crimes until 1998, these were:
- Causing a fire or explosion in a navel dockyard, ship magazine or warehouse (removed from statute books in 1971)
- Espionage (1981)
- Piracy with violence (1998)
- Treason (1998)
- Certain purely military offences under the jurisdiction of the armed forces, such as mutiny. Prior to its complete abolition in 1998, it was available for six offences: 1) serious misconduct in action, 2) assisting the enemy, 3) obstructing operations, 4) giving false air signals, 5)mutiny or incitement to mutiny, and 6) failure to suppress a mutiny with intent to assist the enemy
The last working gallows stood in HMP Wandesworth. It continued to be tested twice a year until 1992 and was dismantled in 1994. The gallows was reconstruced in the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham, where it still stands today.
Sources.
- BBC History on line
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Encarta
- Capitalpunishmenuk.org
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